Andy Boyle knows European hopes will be dashed unless Dundalk are foot perfect and flawless against Slovan Bratislava tonight.
But the centre-back insists it can be done as the club draws on memories of their momentous come-from-behind win over BATE Borisov three years ago.
First off, the Lilywhites must rediscover their scoring touch after a run of just one goal in five European outings this summer.
And secondly, the defence will have to hold tight as the concession of one away goal in Tallaght will leave Dundalk chasing three of their own.
But Boyle - back at the club this summer and a key man during their 2016 run to the group stages - insists it's not mission impossible.
Not least because he feels Slovan are fortunate to be leading 1-0 from the first-leg having scored late on in the Slovakian capital last week.
Capped by Ireland, the centre back said yesterday: “It's a fine balance.
“We're experienced enough now in Europe to know that we don't have to come out gung-ho in the first 15 or 20 minutes, concede and then it gets really difficult.
“If that happened, it's not to say we can't score three goals but we have to give ourselves every opportunity to be in this tie for as long as possible.
“The BATE game is ‘the’ one that sticks out in Tallaght, beating them 3-0 and the scenes that night live long in the memory.
“The first-leg was the best 1-0 defeat you could play in, so it shows the advantages of being in the tie.
“Once you’re in the tie, it’s all to play for when you bring these European teams to your places.”
But Dundalk’s lack of goals during this Champions League and Europa League run is a concern - not that Vinny Perth is panicking.
The Lilywhites head coach said: “That's just noise that comes from outside our group. It's not a concern for us in any shape or form.
"There has almost been criticism of the staff because we’re much more defensively solid. That’s almost seen as a negative.
“But it's not, it's an area in which I think we’ve improved. There’s no doubt our attacking play is not where it was or where we’d like it to be.
“There are multiple reasons for that although I’m not going to make excuses. But when you lose what we’ve lost centrally in the pitch, you’re going to struggle.
“But last week their goalkeeper made three outstanding saves and it was almost a perfect performance.
“We’re operating at a decent level and scoring goals can be difficult, but it's not the concern it is for everyone else."
Dundalk goalkeeper Gary Rogers is backing his attack minded team-mates to get the job done.
But if it goes to penalties for the second time in this European campaign, Rogers will be well briefed.
He was Dundalk’s shootout hero in Latvia when dumping Riga out of Champions League last month.
Yesterday, Rogers said: “We scored over the weekend against Cobh in the FAI Cup and no one talked about that.
“We have players all over the pitch who can contribute with a goal and tonight is set up for someone to chip in and make a name for themselves.
“We’ll try to win it in 90-minutes but we’ll be ready for penalties if needs be. I’ve a file on all their players and videos.
“But you can look at them all you want - when you’re staring them down in the situation it can change.”
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